Huzzah! The day that developers and data gatherers have been waiting for has arrived. iTunes Connect, the portal by which iOS apps are published and managed, has restructured the way download figures are reported. Developers can now see download figures on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis all the way back to 2008. You can now, quickly and easily, see how many app downloads your app has ever had.

Previously, Apple stored only the last 13 weeks of data and if you didn’t check back in that time you would never be able to see those figures again. Good to see that after just 5 short years they have implemented the system we have been crying out for from the beginning.

In case you missed it Samsung launched its latest hero smartphone in the Galaxy range. The fourth iteration of this phone sees it take the definition of ‘smart’ beyond Apple’s current capability and firmly into Minority Report territory…but is it too far?

The phone boasts new features that will either thrill or horrify you. Smart Scroll seems fair enough – tilt the phone to scroll up and down webpages. Smart Pause on the other hand will grab the headlines. The phone tracks your eyes and stops and starts video depending on whether or not  you are looking at the phone. Although not new in itself – think about how cameras identify faces – is this use of the technology a brilliant innovation or something that creeps us out? It brings the device one step closer to us, becoming reactive to our behaviour, rather than being in our control.

The other software innovation introduces gestures, rather than touches, to control features.  Hover your finger over an email, image or S Planner to view a larger preview of it, replacing the need for the double tap to achieve the same effect. You can also complete a number of simple tasks, such as answering…

It’s that time again. Mary Meeker, highly respected partner now at Kleiner Perkins, has released her State of the Web presentation. This is a yearly analysis of internet trends, covering a range of technologies and how they are impacting and affecting societal behaviour and the way we do things.

Her prediction that mobile web browsing would over take desktop browsing mid 2013 came true in India in May 2012. Watch this space.

See the full presentation here:
http://www.slideshare.net/kleinerperkins/2012-kpcb-internet-trends-yearend-update

85% of smartphone users in the UK look for local information on their phone with 81% of users taking action as a result of what they find. For independent local businesses, even more so than large multi-nationals, having a mobile optimised website, tap-to-call phone numbers appearing in local results and utilising location services, could have a significant impact on attracting new customers.

This spirit of immediate opportunity isn’t just useful when “out-and-about”. Mobile offers convenience where ever you are – including the sofa. 56% of smartphone users in the UK have completed a mobile search after seeing an ad – 51% of those coming form TV.

Dual screening is an opportunity, rather than a threat. TV ads are not being ignored, they are driving search.

Use Our Mobile Planet to find out more facts about mobile and how it could affect your business.

For more information on making your website mobile optimised in minutes check out…

According to the latest Quarterly Digital Intelligence Briefing from Econsultancy in association with Adobe, 2013 will be the Year of the Mobile.

This is mildly surprising, mainly because I believe the Year of the Mobile has already happened. With 50%+ of the UK market now owning smartphones, well over a million apps in Google Play and Apple’s App Store and brands like Ebay, Dominoes and Amazon seeing mobile make a significant impact to the bottom line, mobile as a marketing channel has well and truly arrived.

That said, even though some major brands see the value of mobile that doesn’t mean everyone does. So it’s encouraging to see agencies rate Mobile Optimisation as the joint highest Marketing Priority in 2013, as well as being a top five priority for companies.

Recognising the importance to make mobile a real part of the marketing mix is the first step, but clearly challenges remain. 56% of marketers say they need to understand how mobile users research and purchase products yet just 18% say they have the marketing tech needed to acheive their aims.

The next generation of mobile solutions will do well to think about what we can learn from users behaviour, rather than simply…

Smartphones are going through an incredible growth period – we know this of course.

But this report from Deloitte begins to explain what that means for brands in the UK.

Deloitte TMT Predictions 2013

It turns out that one of the reasons people are buying more smartphones is that it’s increasingly difficult to walk into your local Carphone Warehouse and buy a “dumbphone”. There aren’t so many about these days, and most of the network deals apply to their range of smartphones, so they can be generally cheaper.

What does that mean for developers of services and strategies for brands?

Customers in this late adopter segment will use their smartphone to make calls and send text messages – yes, smartphones still do that. But they are less likely, and may not even try, to access the internet or download an application.

So, where’s the brand value in these guys?

It’s in discovery – if you are the brand that has introduced this new amazing digital mobile world to your prospect, you’re going to get kudos from them, and they may turn into a customer.

How? You can use text messaging to draw customers from their comfort zone to your suite of impressive mobile web services and applications, hold their…

Focus Mobile Quarterly Mobile Insight for Automotive Marketers is now available for free download.

Download Full Report

You can also sign up for free monthly updates by clicking the link on the right

Focus Mobile Quarterly Mobile Insight for Car Marketers is now available for free download.

Download the Full Report

You can also sign up for free monthly updates by clicking the link on the right.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS), has just released new data showing that 45% of all UK internet users used a mobile device to go online in 2011, when away from the home or the office.

This includes 6 million people who have accessed the Internet on their mobile for the very first time in the last 12 months.

This trend is seen across the board. 64% of 25-34 yr olds and 49% of 35-44 yr olds accessed the Internet via their mobile phone.

But, unsurprisingly, the youngest group, 16-24 yr olds, access the Internet on their mobile vastly higher than the national average, coming in at 71%.

All of these stats are significantly up from last year.

There is no doubting that for some, the mobile is becoming the primary means of accessing the web. There are a few reasons for this.

1. Hand-me-downs are fairly common, which is why I think the youngest group demonstrate the highest access levels. Pocket money and first job wages have not suddenly jumped. Mum, dad or older sibling has upgraded to…

1. Designing content for varying screen sizes

Screen widths of internet enabled mobile devices range from 178px right up to 840px, and new sizes are coming out all the time. It is impossible to design for them all. Create a strategy around the sizes you are targeting, or the device(s), and develop an optimised experience for those specific sizes. Some sizes are more dominant than others so choose which of your customers you want to give the best experience to and design for them first. You should also employ the graceful degradation philosophy – your site, even…